Columns - Irish Examiner

David Shonfield

Africa Cup of Nations lacks lustre for clubs

The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Gabon next weekend, and if that’s a shrug I detect, then you are not alone.

Tue, 10 Jan, 2017

Managers under microscope

By profession Arrigo Sacchi was a shoe salesman, and not a very good one, before becoming manager of Milan and winning back-to-back European Cups.

Tue, 03 Jan, 2017

Chinese firepower shakes up market

There has always been a case for abolishing the winter transfer window, except for genuine emergencies.

Tue, 27 Dec, 2016

Testing times for elite French clubs

French football packs up for its two-week winter break tomorrow with its flagship clubs in a mini-crisis. The super-rich are no longer having things entirely their own way.

Tue, 20 Dec, 2016

Bayern Munich not quite the brilliant force they once were

After a lacklustre group stage the Champions League draw has pulled out a couple of plums.

Tue, 13 Dec, 2016

How football brings out our best — and worst

Football has a great capacity to bring out good things in people, and also some of the worst. In the last week we’ve seen both.

Tue, 06 Dec, 2016

Leipzig now the German Leicester City?

It could only happen in England, they said, and of course it could never happen again.

Tue, 29 Nov, 2016

Managing a break with tradition for Qatar World Cup is no easy task

League football returned with a bang at the weekend, and not a moment too soon.

Tue, 22 Nov, 2016

James McClean celebrates the win 12/11/2016

Ireland and Poland send echoes around Europe

“It’s a scoreline that will echo around Europe,” Clive Tyldesley told viewers excitedly as England neared the final whistle at Wembley on Friday night. 

Tue, 15 Nov, 2016